In 1774 and 1775, Leonard, writing under the name "Massachusettensis," wrote a series of letters[1] in support of royal government that were published in a Loyalist Boston newspaper, the Massachusetts Gazette. John Adams, writing as "Novanglus," answered the letters in the Boston Gazette. The exchange ceased with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Many, including Adams, erroneously believed that Jonathan Sewall had written the Massachusettensis letters.